1810 to 1840 was a blossoming time in Swedish poetry, and there were several writers of distinguished merit, among them Esaias Tegnér, Erik Gustaf Geijer, Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom and Erik Johan Stagnelius. The brief and mysterious life and death of Erik Johan Stagnelius have given a romantic interest to all that is connected with his name.

Life

His father was a vicar on Öland, later on biskop in Kalmar on the nearby main land, which likely influenced Stagnelius spiritual thinking. He came from a large family. Stagnelius showed a natural gift for poetic writing from an early childhood. He took his ... more »

Erik Johan Stagnelius Poems

Friend In The Desolate Time
Friend, in the desolate time, when your soul is enshrouded in darkness
When, in a deep abyss, memory and feeling die out,
Intellect timidly gropes among shadowy forms and illusions
Heart can no longer sigh, eye is unable to weep;

Nacken - Water Demon
The evening is festooned with golden clouds
the fairies dance in the meadow
and the leaf-crowned Nacken
plays his fiddle in the silvery brook.

Friend In The Desolate Time

Friend, in the desolate time, when your soul is enshrouded in darkness When, in a deep abyss, memory and feeling die out,Intellect timidly gropes among shadowy forms and illusions Heart can no longer sigh, eye is unable to weep;When, from your night-clouded soul the wings of fire have fallen And you, to nothing, afraid, feel yourself sinking once more,Say, who rescues you then?—Who is the comforting angel Brings to your innermost soul order and beauty again,Building once more your fragmented world, restoring the fallen Altar, and when it is raised,...